Saturday, March 16, 2013

96 Years Old

My mother, who now resides in a care facility, turned 96
years old today. I owe a good deal of my appreciation for wildflowers and birds
to her. When I was growing up she would always express such joy with the first
flowers of spring, and the return of the nesting swallows. In later years she
enjoyed many hikes up Iron Mountain in the Oregon Cascades and made up her own
alphabetical list of wildflowers. She
took great pride in making an annual trek to the summit even into her eighties.
She made a winter home for herself near the Salton Sea in Southern California, where
Jeanette and I visited annually and shared in a growing interest in birds. Her awareness and communication have been taken from us by the ravages of dementia. I’ve
cried way over 96 tears today, Mom.

3 comments:

Jim and Jeanette - I'm so sorry and sad for you on your Mother's dementia. However, your 'rememberaries' of her and her love of wildflowers and early birding, before birding became a usable word, are the things that I hope will keep you strong in coming times. Great memories!